ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower

[ccrunner]

"...Like a Blister in the Sun..."

(the above reference is for any of you 80's/ "hey I know that Violent Femmes song" dorks like me... ok.. altogether... "Why can't I get just one F....")

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

Ok, enough of that.. sometimes my brain takes me on a little side trip.. The blister in question is the one that lives on my OEM hood.. While it is distinct to the N600, I don't think I like it.. These are just the 'before' shots as I plan to cut it off and maybe fab it into an airbox lid as a nod to the vintage.. I would have done it last weekend, but I ran out of CO2- another day it seems..

[ccrunner]

Sept 15, 2013

I had a hard time deciding what to do with the dash.. I originally thought I'd take a 50's car/truck steel dash, narrow it, and morph it into this car; but my desire to use the VFR cluster just seemed to clash in design too much.. I opted instead to use the OEM N600 dash and graft the VFR cluster into it to make it look as stock as possible- not because the stock N600 layout is so appealing, but I thought a steel, painted dash in a 72 Japanese car would be out of place- particularly with a more modern, plastic, gauge cluster..

So I've ended up with a hybrid of sorts.. In order to use the car's original dash, I had to put a skin on the front face to cover all of the OEM holes and mods/cuts/sins I'd done to it.. I chose to make aluminum panels and give them a brushed look with 220 sandpaper.. maybe one day I'll polish them or paint them car color if the mood strikes.. maybe a combination of both? Overall, for what this BEC microcar is, I'm happy with the look that's coming together on the inside..

[ccrunner]

Proof that you can polish a turd!

It's hard for most people to imagine spending so much time, energy, and passion on a vehicle that is, um, not to put too fine a point on it; ugly. To me, I see it as a little diamond that simply needs polishing: but others seem to see it as a lump of dirty, cheap Asian coal

Thank goodness I have 2 daughters to help others see my little gem as I do! In the under construction category, I've entered what my wife refers to as "The Deathtrap" in it's first car show (9-28-13) in Long Beach.. When my kids heard about this they reminded me that the car is "ugly," and "rusty," and "people will laugh at you" (I'm not really sure if they're my kids to be honest). Anyway, as the cold, merciless words of my 10 and 12 year old car show expert judges who know what's good for me daughters sank in, I asked what I might do to avoid being ridiculed. If there's anything a 6'2", middle aged man who drives a clown car wants to avoid, it's being laughed at.

My kids then suggested I leave it up to them. And so I did. Below are the pictures of what two helpful girls think is needed to keep from being shamed out of the upcoming car show. Thank you Sierra and Kayla, it has made all the difference

[GonzoRacer]

Love the artwork!!! It's now "SpongeBob SquareCar"!!!!

[robbovius]

Proof that you can polish a turd!

Oh puh-LEEZE, that was proven years ago on Mythbusters.

you're daughters are awesome.

[Acerguy]

No, you can't polish a (room temperature) turd but, as demonstrated above, you can paint one!

[ccrunner]

Potential electrical gremlins with this platform (and others?)...

I forgot to mention an issue that's donor specific.. With the VFR800 engine (in my case 1998-2001) Honda had a problem with a rectifier that ran VERY hot- I mean OUCH!! hot.. In hindsight, they're a huge Achilles heel for the bike, and sooner or later need to be addressed.. I was having trouble with my battery going down/not taking a charge, and lo and behold it was my failing rectifier .. The fix is pretty straightforward: it's to install a MOSFET style rectifier, and so long as I was at it, I upgraded a small section of the bike's wiring that was also known to suffer heat damage (for this model it's called a "vfrness").. I found both items through this site-

http://www.wiremybike.com/ Super easy guy to deal with and his parts were exactly what I needed.. a great source for an electrical dummy like me..

I post this in the event that any other BEC guys want to do a Honda VFR800 repower and trip over this posting- but I will also say that years ago I had a bike-powered sandrail with an old GSXR1000 which was also plagued with an overheating rectifier issue (I went through 2 OEM units on it), so maybe it's a thing where the older platforms would benefit from the MOSFET switchover?- I'm not really sure, I'm just glad to have what I now consider a fire hazard waiting to happen out of my car!

-ccrunner

[ccrunner]

1st time carshow-er (Sept 2013)

Over the years I've been to many car shows, but always as a spectator- that changed a few weeks ago when I entered my first car show as a participant at the Japanese Classic Car Show (JCCS) at the Queen Mary in Long Beach.. It is a little ironic though that I chose this particular 'not quite a show car' car to do it with..

I learned that at least for me, displaying a car was not so different than being a spectator.. With the state my car's in, I didn't spend all those hours cleaning and polishing, and I spent a fair amount time during the show walking around and gawking at everyone else's stuff-- lots of very talented builders/restorers!

It was interesting to have people of such varied backgrounds look at and ask about the car.. the kids seemed to really like the artwork on the doors.. some of them asked if they could draw on the car too.. Some people were drawn to the row of tiny Hondas just because they're tiny and odd.. I especially liked talking to the guys that are building/modding their own stuff at home- easy to tell who these puzzle-solvers were just based on their questions and input.. Almost all of these types commented on the time involved- obvious they've spent a few hours in the garage too-- my kind of people!

Although most people tried to find something nice to say, I did have one older guy that was pretty upset that I would "cut up" such a great little car, and he wasn't shy about telling me. It was such an odd moment.. He explained how he had one once- yada-yada-yada, and who do I think I am butchering such a classic?! I think I was pretty nice about it all; everyone gets to have an opinion... But I couldn't resist asking him what became of his little classic? What was he doing to preserve such a sacred model himself? (It seems he's 'in between' classic cars right now )

[ccrunner]

Brakes..

I've gotten a few emails about the brakes- an area I pretty much glossed over earlier..

If you've ever driven a stock N-Z600, you know the brakes are surprisingly poor for such a small. light car.. I think the problem lies with those 10" wheels and tiny, tiny brakes- not only that, but they're drum in the rear- yuk

When I decided to swap the Miata suspension in, I was quite worried that I wasn't able to fit the larger -1.8- bits under my 13" wheels.. I was also concerned about not using the vacuum assist from the Miata/MC donor... It ends up that I worried too much about nothing..

The 1.6 4-wheel disc setup is more than enough.. what's working in my favor for this build is just simple physics.. I took the brakes out of a 2500# car and put them in a 1400# car (albeit with no power assist).. In my case I also put an adjustable proportioning valve inline to the rear brakes, but truth is I didn't even need that- surprisingly the brakes are well balanced without needing to adjust them.. In hindsight, I'll bet I could have gotten away with even smaller (lighter) brakes to do the job- maybe one day I'll go back and swap in some lighter calipers/rotors..

Another lesson learned in this process: I made the mistake of installing a "line lock" in the rear brake circuit- it was my plan to have it act as my parking brake. Now I need to take it out- it simply never worked as I had hoped (it was hard to tell if it was positively 'locked' on- not a decisive click or snap open/shut as you would want).. anyway, it also bugged me that if I lost hydraulics that I had no mechanical backup (as pointed out by others in an earlier post)..

Anyway, I guess the takeaway is that going up a few inches in rim size to allow for the largest brakes I could fit proved to work very well.. It changed what used to be weak/sketchy brakes , to brakes that are now quite good

-ccrunner

[GonzoRacer]

He explained how he had one once- yada-yada-yada, and who do I think I am butchering such a classic?!

Yeah, seems like there's always that one guy that needs b*tch slapped across the yard. We've gotten too civilized, entirely too civilized, and gone and made such things illegal, punishable by law, no matter how much he needed slappin! And, in my book, anybody that criticized little SpongeBob SquareCar definitely needed slappin, bad!!!

Other'n that, I hope you enjoyed the show. I'm sure your l'il jewel (with the original artwork) was one of the more popular cars there, at least with the under-14 set!!!


JDK

[thegarman]

I've enjoyed watching your progress, being a "Honda" bike and car guy (and my VFRs have always been some of my favorite bikes because of the motors!) I'm not sure how I would have reacted to the guy who went off on you - I'm not sure I would have been as nice as you were. I'll admit that I get a bit sensitive when people make critical comments or say, "Why did you do this?" or "Couldn't you have done it this way?" My build-buddy, Tom, suggests I ask them, "How many cars have you built?" Even the best looking and best home built cars have flaws. Flaws give a car character! I have a story for almost every flaw in my car! I can walk you around and point out all of my screw-ups or explain how I'd do many things differently (if I were to build another car, and I don't see that happening!) You've taken an old classic out of the junk yard and put it back on the road...and for that, I salute you!

-Gar

[GonzoRacer]

Yo, CCR-
Gar's comment about "How many cars have you built?" (LOVE IT!!!) reminded me of something I've been meaning to post over in my build log. Maybe you can make use of it, too.

I made this up some time ago, printed out a dozen or so and keep a few in my clip-board whenever I take the Slotus anywhere. So far, NOBODY has said too much negative about the car. Feel free to modify it to suit your car/name/etc and print out a few to go with SpongeBob Squarecar next time...

Notice to Critics.jpg

[robbovius]

yeah, we've all gotten that kind of crap. back in '12 a couple months befiore I joined up here, I had posted a picture of the B-3 (in fact, the one that leads off my build log) on the Yammie Xs850 users group. replies were thin, a couple were like "wow, cool!" but one curmudgeon told me that it was too bad I cut up a nice old bike and I shouidl have just bought a used engine blah blah blah.

CC I dig your ride, its - as my middle daughter says -"Pretty fricken sweet"

[BMF1978]

I have read though this build a couple of times now, and I really like seeing what you have done with this car.

I have a '72 AN600 that I am planning to build soon, maybe even starting this winter. Seeing the amount of cutting and welding you have done has really inspired me. Thanks.

I am welder/fabricator by trade but I had a hard time believing that my original choice of drivetrain would fit. After seeing everything you have done, I have resolved to try to make it work. My plan is to "stuff" a GM 2.2L Turbocharged Ecotec into it, mated to a 4L60E and solid axle rear end. I have a lot of things to get done before I can actually start the project, but I will surely start a build thread when I get there.

Keep the updates coming,

[ccrunner]

Gonzo, Garman, and Robbovius... I hear you guys on the critics.. Other than in tight circles like on a site like this, there just aren't many people you meet that go as deep into a build as we do- the vast, vast majority of people just drive their appliance car and don't give it much thought.. Normally when I get negative feedback, it's the typical Ford vs. Chevy type (like so many have done, I stuffed a SBC into my beloved 53 F100; oh the horror!).. .. ..or, someone with no real talent or fabbing experience will chime in with a 'shoulda done it this way' contribution.. easy enough to dismiss those who haven't walked the mile- you know...

For my own part, I learned a great lesson from my HS shop teacher Mr. Madson years ago.. I was in my "Only Mustangs and Camaros matter" period (cut me some slack, I was just 16 ), and I said out loud in class one day about what a waste of a car when it's done in the 'lowrider' style.. Cucumber cool. Mr. Madson reminded me (and the class) that those lowrider guys spend as much time and energy making their car in their own style as I do on mine- for as different as they are, they're just like me.. Over all these years I've been priviledged to meet many tuners, lowriders, truck guys, rat-rodders, and all modders in between.. It's been cool to share the passion for all things powered- I've learned something from each of them..

I figure the naysayers are just a bit ignorant like 16 year old me.. hopefully they'll engage (this involves listening as well as speaking) with the builder, and some of the passion, energy, and openmindedness will rub off on them..



-ccrunner